If you're here because you're exhausted but somehow still wide awake,
You are in the right place.
Perhaps your body feels ready for sleep,
But your mind is still active,
Focused on something in particular,
Or maybe nothing in particular at all.
You're just awake.
And while it can feel frustrating,
There is a reason this happens.
To your brain,
Being tired and being ready for sleep aren't quite the same thing.
You can have plenty of sleep pressure,
This natural drive to sleep that builds the longer you've been awake,
And still have a brain and nervous system that are fairly activated.
So tonight we are not going to try to make you more tired and we are not going to try to force your mind to switch off.
Instead,
We are simply going to give your mind less to do.
We'll use the breath.
And then slowly move your attention through the body.
Giving your mind something simple and sensory to follow as the rest of the day begins to fall further into the background.
Your job here is not to try to fall asleep.
Your job here is simply to rest.
Now begin by getting as comfortable as you can.
Let your body be supported by the bed beneath you.
Shift anything that needs shifting.
And then allow yourself to become still.
As you take a slow breath in through your nose.
And breathe out through softly pursed lips,
Almost as though you're breathing through a straw.
Good.
Again,
Breathing in.
And then a long and easy breath out.
One more time,
Breathe in.
And out.
Now let your breathing return to normal.
Nothing to control.
Nothing to deepen.
Just notice the breath moving on its own.
Then very gently curl your fingers into your palms,
Just enough to feel a little sensation.
And then allow the grip to release.
And then once more,
Curl your fingers into your palms,
This time squeezing just a little tighter.
And slowly let them relief.
Notice what remains after the movement is gone.
Perhaps a warmth.
A slight tingling.
The weight of your hands.
As you allow the surface beneath you to hold more of your entire body.
Feel the back of your body becoming heavier.
And feel your shoulders dropping.
Your jaw softening.
The muscles around your eyes releasing and your abdomen no longer needing to hold itself in.
You don't need to relax every muscle,
You don't need to empty your mind.
We are simply going to give your attention somewhere to go.
Will begin to move awareness through your body.
There's nothing you need to change as we move,
Just notice each place as I name it.
And as we move through the different parts of your body,
Remember,
You do not need to keep track of where we are.
If you drift away and hear my voice again somewhere else in the body,
Just begin again there.
Bring your attention to your right hand.
And notice your right thumb.
And then the second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Right wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Right waist.
Right hip.
Right thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heal.
Right sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Left wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Left waist.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Calf muscle.
Ankle.
Heal.
Left sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Right here.
Left heel.
Right calf.
Left calf.
Back of the right knee.
Back of the left knee.
Back of the right thigh.
Back of the left thigh.
Right buttock.
Left buttock Lower back.
Middle back.
Upper back.
Entire spine.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Back of the neck.
Back of the head.
Crown of the head.
Forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Space between the eyebrows.
Right eyelid.
Left eyelid.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Nose.
Tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Space between the lips.
Chin.
Joe.
Throat.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right chest.
Left chest.
Middle of the chest.
Upper abdomen.
Navel lower abdomen.
Pelvis.
The whole right leg.
The whole left leg.
Both legs together.
The whole right arm.
The whole left arm.
Both arms together.
The entire torso.
The neck and head.
The whole body together.
Your entire body.
In total stillness.
Heavy.
Supported.
Breathing.
Noticing the way your body moves.
Is both heavy and light.
Like you are both sinking.
Into the surface beneath you.
And floating.
Into the air above you.
Nothing you need to solve.
Nothing you need to prepare for.
If thoughts are still moving,
They can move.
You do not have to follow every one of them.
You can notice that a thought has appeared.
And let your attention return.
The feeling of your body being held.
The weight of you against the bed.
The breath coming in.
A breath going out.
You may notice that there are moments now where there is a little more space between thoughts.
And if there aren't,
That's okay too.
We are not checking whether this is working.
We are not measuring how close you are to sleep.
We are not asking your mind to do sleep correctly.
We are simply making less for it to do.
Feel again the weight of the whole body.
The back of your head.
Your shoulders.
Your arms.
Your hand.
You're back.
Your pelvis.
Your leg.
Your feet.
All of you.
Heavy.
Support it.
Breathing.
You do not need to know when sleep will come.
You do not need to notice the moment it happens.
You do not need to do anything to cross from awake.
Into a sleep.
Your body knows how to rest.
And for now,
That is enough.
Nothing else to work out tonight.
Nothing else to do tonight.
Just be here.
Happy.
Supportive.
Resting.
